Soccer - Diaby double means Leverkusen tighten grip on third place

LEVERKUSEN : Bayer Leverkusen's in-form winger Moussa Diaby scored twice as they cruised past Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 on Saturday to tighten their grip on third place in the Bundesliga with their fifth league win in the last six matches.

Argentine forward Lucas Alario put the hosts in front just before the half hour mark, benefiting from a lucky deflection and slotting in from four metres out.

The 22-year-old Diaby then charged into the box in the 57th and threaded the ball past keeper Stefan Ortega to double their lead.

Diaby, in superb form, tested Ortega again a little later with a low drive. He did it much better in the 81st, picking up the ball on the edge of the box and rifling in from a tight angle for his seventh goal in the last five league games.

Leverkusen move on to 44 points in third place, four points ahead of Freiburg, winners 3-0 over Hertha Berlin, and Hoffenheim.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund are on 49 points and in action at Augsburg on Sunday. League leaders Bayern Munich, on 55, face Eintracht Frankfurt later on Saturday.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Christian Radnedge)